Money Matters: Generosity, the Evidence of Faith

by Marilynn Chadwick

We’ve seen how Luke compared the Temple offerings of the rich people with the sacrificial gift from the poor widow: Jesus looked up and saw rich people putting their gifts into the offering box, and he saw a poor widow put in two small copper coins. He said, “Truly I tell you, this poor widow has put in more than all of them; for all of them have contributed out of their abundance, but she out of her poverty has put in all she had to live on” (Luke 21:1-4 ESV).

Jesus criticized the rich, who merely gave “out of their abundance [perisseuo]” (Luke 21:4). Perisseuo can be translated excess or surplus; spare change; or even leftovers. Luke makes no mention of size, implying only that Jesus knew their gifts would not be missed.

The Greek phrase used to describe the widow’s gift, ek tou hysterematos, is translated “out of her poverty” (Luke 21:4). The King James version renders hysterematos as “penury,” an old English term describing a destitute beggar.

The widow’s extreme poverty helps us understand the sacrificial nature of her gift. Jesus knew she gave everything. He honors this widow who gave “all she had to live on,” while denouncing the wicked abuse of those who oversaw the Temple system and tragically neglected the poor.

God’s Holy Temple was to be the place to care for the poor, not crush them. In Old Testament times, the ministry of the Jewish Temple was to provide for widows and the poor. “Father of the fatherless and protector of widows is God in his holy habitation” (Psalms 68:5). This theme is also present throughout Deuteronomy (10:17-18; 24:17; 27:19).

Luke emphasizes Jesus’s public attack of this Temple evil. When we look at the widow’s gift in Luke’s Gospel, she seems to shine brightly as the most generous with her offering. Jesus recognized that this poor widow gave that which the rich young ruler had refused. And proportionately, she outgave Zacchaeus (Luke 18,19). She even bypassed the religious leaders and all the rich with her extravagant gift (21:4).

Her story reminds us of the story of the poor widow of Zarephath. She, too, gave “all she had to live on.” Believing the “word of the Lord” through Elijah, the widow gave her last bit of meal and oil (1 Kings 17:16-24). The poor woman’s great faith resulted in supernatural provision for herself, her son, and Elijah.

The poor widow’s gift in Luke was a similar act of faith according to Ambrose, an Early Church Father. He wrote that Jesus honored the widow’s two mites because “that precious poverty of hers was rich in the mystery of faith.” May our generous giving help us understand this same mystery of faith today.